


Mr. Sandman

by seamonster



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Gen, Older Dipper Pines, Older Mabel Pines, Older Pines Twins, twin pines au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-02
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-24 09:55:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6149787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seamonster/pseuds/seamonster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Long has it been since the Weirdmageddon has ended, leaving it's mark on everyone they know. Yet they've all moved on. Years have passed, and Dipper and Mabel continue the family business, never forgetting what pushed them into this path of life. But the Nightmare Realm had more creeping in it's pits than a dream demon's band of monsters.</p><p>And the Pines are going to wish the rift had never been opened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Weird-A-Bago

**Author's Note:**

> SO HI. Seamo here, trying out a new fandom like I do every couple of years. To be honest, I haven’t written fanfiction in about a year so I’m very sorry if it’s a bit rusty. 
> 
> Since GF ended, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I think the twins would grow up (which I’m sure many people have been doing that), so this is me fleshing out how I picture them as adults. They’re about 25 here at the start.
> 
> Anyway, I can’t say how often I’ll be updating that story, but I hope you all enjoy it!

_It’s hard to describe how similar, yet different everything is out here. The same trees grow out of the same earth, the same moon and sky light up the night, yet everything about the Northeast is unmistakably different. The people, the air, the cities. It never ceases to amaze me how vast and diverse our country really is. Even the rumors and lore out here are so different from the ones back home in the West, despite them being rooted in similar phenomenon. I am eager to explore these regional differences in further detail over the coming weeks…_

Dipper had to pause when a strong, jaw-cracking yawn snuck up on him and he  rubbed at his tired eyes. The screen of his Getac was starting to seem too bright, words blending together, and he knew trying to continue his field notes was useless. It was nearly one in the morning, he needed to get some sleep.

Being an off-season, the RV park in Erie, Michigan was quiet and sparsely habitated. The night air was cold and wet thanks to the nearby lake, and Dipper spent a few more moments staring up at the stars after he closed his laptop. It really was a beautiful country.  
He couldn’t feel his nose anymore though so, making sure to grab the lantern and his empty soda cans, he retreated into the warmth of the Winnebago. Yawning again, he robotically locked the door and turned on the security system, making sure to get green lights on all the exterior sensors before shuffling to the back of the RV.  
He wished to just shed his clothes off and fall into bed, but knew if he did that Mabel would wake him extra early for not putting his laundry away. So, blurry-eyed and getting more wobbly every minute, he changed into his pajamas, put his laundry away properly, and lazily brushed his teeth in the dark. He was doing pretty good about not making much noise, but even so, as he reached the beds and pulled back the curtain for the lower bunk, he heard his sister roll over and yawn.

“Dipprr?”

Her voice was thick with sleep and he made a soft shushing sound, barely whispering when he said, “go back to sleep.”

She must have, because all he heard after that was a soft, tired sigh. Finally, he let himself collapse down into his own squishy quilts, barely pulling his curtain half-shut before he was already falling asleep, dreams of lake monsters blossoming in his subconscious.

 

  
The first thought Mabel had when she opened her eyes the following morning was that there was no place in the world she’d rather waking up. Still buried in warm blankets, sleep crusted around her eyes, she yawned and squinted at the clock on her bunk shelf. It was bright and early.

Which meant she was already smiling when she pushed her privacy curtain away and rolled off the top bunk, despite the bout of shivers that followed. Dipper had left his jacket laying out so she hijacked it while starting the coffee maker.

When her mug was full of sugar and caffeine, and there were slippers pulled on over her fuzzy socks, Mabel disengaged the alarm system and climbed up to the roof’s emergency hatch, pushing it open.

Mabel loved watching the sunrise. No matter where they were or why, it was always beautiful and it was always there. This particular morning was orange and pink as it rose over the sleepy lake town and she knew exactly what she was going to wear that day to match it. What better way to make a first impression on the East Coast Investigators than by being as bright as the morning? She didn’t even care that her toes were going numb, she just drank her coffee and made a mental checklist of everything they were going to do on this trip, starting today.

First order of business? Pancakes. Big Mama’s Pancake House was supposed to have the best pancakes in the state and Mabel was going to try every flavor. Second? Meet up with the ECI, let Dipper get his grown-up nerd on with other other grown-up nerds, and show them all pictures of her pig. Third? Lake mermaids! Grunkle Ford had even added some cool new features to her underwater camera that she couldn’t wait to try out.

“There’s my jacket.” Dipper was giving her a grumpy look over the edge of the RV roof where he was climbing up with his own steaming mug, shivering in a hoodie.

“You left it on the table.” Mabel shrugged and scooted over when her brother joined her but they pressed their sides together to conserve heat. “You’re up early.”

“Eh, I woke up when you did. Was too excited to fall back asleep.”

“I know, right!? I can’t wait to see some friggin’ mermaids!”

Dipper laughed at her enthusiasm. “If there even are any. Sounds more like a lake monster to me.”

“Oh, come on. I read all the reports, too. All the witnesses agreed that whatever they saw was no bigger than an average-sized adult male. Ergo, merpeople.”

“Lake monsters don’t all necessarily have to be huge like the Gobblewonker or Nessie. That’s just what Hollywood got people thinking. Scotland has Kelpies and they’re no bigger than a horse.”

“You wanna bet on it? Loser has to empty the septic tank for a month.”

“And the winner gets to choose where we eat for a month.”

“Deal!”

“Deal.” Dipper took a long drink from his coffee and leaned more against Mabel. “I’m glad we decided to come out here.”

“Me too. Michigan is supposed to have, like, the best apple cider this time of year. Bro, we are buying five gallons to take back with us.”

“Agreed.”

“Now smile for the selfie.” Mabel had pulled out her phone and they both grinned in the orange light of the new day for a photo. “Perfect! Sending that one to mom.”

 

 

The RV park was close enough to town that they were able to just walk to Big Mama’s Pancake House, both glad it was still only autumn so the weather was warming up with the rise of the sun. Mabel stood out a mile away in her dark pink pants and bright orange sweater spilling out of her red jacket. Dipper on the other hand was as monochromatic as ever, the most interesting part of his outfit being his baseball cap that had ‘PINES’ printed on it in bold letters.

True to her word, Mabel ordered one pancake of each flavor to be served in a stack, which she drenched in strawberry syrup. Dipper ordered a regular short stack with a side of bacon and eggs, and together they discussed their plans for the day. They’d been planning this trip for weeks. In their three years of travelling so far, they’d always stuck to the Pacific Northwest. So they were both thrilled to be investigating things in an entirely new setting. Merfolk or Lake Monster, they were just excited that they might be expanding the journal on Aquatic Phenomenon.

“Since we’re not meeting up with the ECI until later this afternoon, it gives us plenty of time to take a look around the town and gather our own information.”

“It also gives us time to find the nearest cider mill. I heard those old dudes talking out front about them selling handmade donuts with the cider. _Handmade. Donuts_.”

“Slow down, Mabel. We’re gonna be in this town for four days.” Dipper couldn’t help smiling with her though. They were both just happy to be there.

After their food had been cleared away and Dipper was polishing off a second cup of coffee, he pulled his Getac out of his backpack, along with files that he handed to his sister.

“Let’s just briefly go over what we have so far.”

“Eugh, again? Dipper, I’ve already read these, like, a dozen times before we even got here.” She slumped in her seat. “I hate morning work.”

“But we’ve had a chance to see part of the town by now, that gives us a better frame of reference.”

“We haven’t even been to the lake, yet.”

“Don’t worry, that’s next.”

However, before he’d even gotten his computer booted up, Dipper’s phone started to ring in his backpack. But it wasn’t his usual ringtone, it was an alert he’d set up to let them know whenever they received a message to their main computer from Ford.

They both looked at each other in confusion. Ford knew they were on the other side of the country, after all.

“Maybe it’s a 'Hope you got there safely, have a great trip!’ message,” Mabel offered as Dipper turned the alert off.

“On the emergency line? Ford wouldn’t do that. He’s the one who told us to only use it in urgent situations.” Grunkle Ford had spent a lot of time encrypting that particular channel of communication to be totally untraceable and impossible to hack.

Dipper snapped his laptop shut and shoved everything back into his bag. “We need to get back to the Weird-A-Bago.”

Mabel just sighed. “I have a bad feeling this trip isn’t going to end in donuts.”

 

 

A little red light was flashing on the edge of their computer monitor when they bustled into the RV, not even bothering to take their jackets off. Dipper logged on quickly.

“It a video from McGucket Labs, time-stamped …two days ago?”

“Why are we just now getting it?”

They both frowned in worry as Dipper pressed play.

 _“Dipper, Mabel.”_ It was Grunkle Ford, looking scruffier than usual, and tired but highly alert. He was standing in a room full of strange equipment and radars, behind him, they could see McGucket running around frantically, checking machines and looking extremely freaked out by the data. _“I know you’re already engaged in an investigation, and I wouldn’t ask this if it weren’t vitally important. But you NEED to return to Gravity Falls immediately! I’m sorry for not telling you about this sooner, but for weeks Fiddleford and I have been registering some bizarre readings of magnetic disturbances across the Pacific Northwest. We didn’t mention it to you right away because the readings were small influxes, barely even noticeable, and only occurred at night.”_ He motioned to the monitor directly next to him that showed a graph Mabel couldn’t ever hope to understand. _“It seemed benign enough to handle ourselves, and we didn’t want you to postpone your trip to the East coast. Unfortunately, the disturbances have gotten …stronger.”_ Here, Ford looked both frustrated and apologetic. _“And the side-effects are no-longer as benign. I wish I could say more but it’s hard to tell at this point who or what is involved; and worse, who or what is listening in. But Gravity Falls is ….we need your help. Please come as quickly as possible.”_

The message ended abruptly there and the twins could only stare at the screen in silence.

“What the heck…” Dipper finally broke the silence.

“He made that _two days ago_?”

“Magnetic influxes at night? Those readings looked strong enough to effect electricity output on a state-wide scale.”

“I’m gonna call Grunkle Stan–”

“Mabel, wait.” Dipper was still frowning at the screen hard. “Ford sent that message on the emergency channel because he’s clearly worried about someone tapping into our phone lines. We don’t know what’s happening so we need to be careful. Send Grunkle Ford a text. Say that we got his message, we’ve arrived safe and sound, and that we’ll see them when we get back.”

“…And then?”

“And then use the payphone to call the ECI. Apologize, but tell them we have to leave due to a family emergency. I’ll get the RV ready.”

 

 

It took about an hour and a half for them to get on the road. They stopped at a Fill-N-Go to top off the Winnebago’s tank and fill up their spare containers, also to stock up on road trip food and other necessities. To Mabel’s surprise and delight, Dipper made sure they swung by the nearest Cider Mill on their way out to buy all the cider and donuts they could afford. It was already going to be a three day drive back, so what was an extra thirty minutes? It wasn’t likely they’d be coming back out again anytime that year, and Dipper hated seeing Mabel disappointed.

In the first day, they made it all the way to Omaha, taking turns driving and waiting to see if they got anymore messages from anyone back at the Falls. No such luck on that front, though. At a truck stop, they parked and tried to grab some sleep. But it seemed they were both too worried.

“Tomorrow I’ll see if I can tune into the local radio stations, see if there are any clues there about what’s going on.” Dipper lay on top of his blankets, still in his clothes. After a moment of silence, he heard Mabel roll over on the bunk above him.

“Dip, before you said something about that chart Grunkle Ford showed us in the video. About the magnetic influxes. That they were strong enough to affect electricity?”

“Yeah, influxes that strong could cause power surges, even power-outages. Could affect wireless transmissions, including ….crap.”

“What?”

“Including television and radio. It’s probably affecting cell towers, too. We need to get back as quick as we can. Sleep, go to sleep. We leave bright and early.” He jammed his eyes closed, even though his mind was wide awake.

“…Are you going to take the first driving shift?”

“I can, sure. Why?”

Mabel hopped out of bed, pulling a blanket with her to keep around her shoulders. “You sleep. I need to look something up.”

Dipper smiled for the first time since that morning. “Are you going to do research?”

“You bet your nerdy backpack I am.”

 

 

The alarm went off six hours later, dragging Dipper out of a deep, exhausted sleep. He didn’t have a problem getting up, though. Just remembering Ford’s urgent voice in that message had him up, changing, and brushing his teeth in minutes.

He found Mabel sound asleep at their table booth, bundled up in her blanket. In front of her were several thick books. Bound in deep, vibrant blue leather and front covers emblazoned with the silver silhouette of grand pine tree, these were their journals. Five in total so far, they were everything Dipper and Mabel worked for. Every adventure, every encounter, every experience was thoroughly researched, analyzed, and documented in those books.  
Mabel had left a few of them open, pink sticky notes stuck to their pages. It looked like she was trying to cross-reference the symptoms of the magnetic influxes to various phenomenon they’d encountered before. I also looked like she wasn’t having much luck. Dipper pulled the nearest open book over to himself, marveling (not for the first time) at the intricate and perfectly detailed illustration of a Thunder Bird soaring across the pages, at the bottom were the tiny initials of 'MP’ written in curling letters. He made his coffee as quietly as possible after that.

 

 

Hours later when they were about halfway home, they pulled off to stretch their legs, eat a quick lunch, and switch drivers.

“Did Grunkle Stan ever text you back?”

“No,” Mabel sighed, leaning back against the side of the Winnebago. At her back was the large mural she’d painted of the tall trees back in Gravity Falls. 'Weird-A-Bago’ stood out a midst them in proud, popping letters. If you looked close enough, you could see all the things she’d painted hiding in the trees; everything from gnomes to the hide-behind. It was Dipper’s favorite side of the RV. “Soos neither.”

Dipper sat in a lawn chair next to her, sugared donut between his teeth, laptop open on his knees. “Well, I’ve been doing some research while you were driving. And I found some interesting news reports from all across Oregon.”

He shuffled between a few tabs. “Like this, Roseburg experienced a city-wide power outage late at night about three weeks back, the power didn’t come back on until nearly noon the following day. The reason for the outage is still unknown. And here, Ashland locals have reported similar outages, but that’s not all. According to their paper, several locals went missing only to turn up in the middle of the woods with no memory of how or why they were there. Baker City has a lot of testimony of people experiencing gaps of time-loss. It’s happening everywhere. Across the entire state, there have been 27 people go missing who have yet to be find, enumerable accounts of people experiencing horrible nightmares, reports of sleep-walking in people with no prior history of sleeping disorders. This is all…” Dipper didn’t even have words for it. How could Ford have not bothered to mention _all this_???

“Anything about Gravity Falls?”

“Not that I can find. The local news webpage hasn’t updated in five days, and I’m just getting white noise on their radio wavelength.”

“We need to get there fast.”

“At this rate, we should get there by tomorrow evening. If we speed.”

“Road safety laws, prepare to be ignored.”

Dipper was growing increasingly bothered though. It just wasn’t something Ford did, keep them out of the loop like this. This was what they _did_ , it’s what Stan and Ford paid them to do. On top of that, they’d all made vows to never lie to each other, to always keep everyone in the loop. It was just so frustrating.

“I’m going to have to stage an intervention if you don’t stop eating your shirt.”

“Hm?” Dipper realized what she said as he looked up at her. He’d finished eating his donut and had started on the collar of his shirt without realizing it. He spit it out.

“Listen, Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford are both getting old, like really old. They barely leave Gravity Falls anymore. We were already heading off to the other side of the country, I’m sure they just wanted to try and handle it themselves. Get a little adventure back into their old bones.” Mabel didn’t necessarily look like she believed what she was saying, she looked just as worried as he did, which was rare for her. So he tried to smile and nodded.

“…Yeah, maybe.” He just hoped they’d get back before something really bad happened. He didn’t want to say it aloud, but all those reports of nightmares and sleep walking, ….it sounded too much like _him_.

 


	2. Home Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is shorter but whatever. i'm still kind of feeling this story out as i go. i mean, i know what's going to happen, i'm just not 100% sure how it's gonna get there yet.

They had prepared themselves for the worst, both mentally and physically. Whatever was plaguing Gravity Falls, and the rest of Oregon, they could handle it. They'd stopped an apocalypse before, they could do it again.

So when they exited the interstate, they were both baffled and relieved to find that everything looked ...normal. Pulling into Gravity Falls, local townsfolk seemed to be going about their day as usual. Many of them recognized the Winnebago, and stopped on the sidewalks to smile and wave at them. Cars let them pass through traffic, more arms waving out of windows. Dipper and Mabel smiled and waved back, but this was strange.

"What the heck is going on here?" Dipper said under his breath, trying not to move his lips.

"I have no idea. Everything seems just like it was when we left."

"Let's just get to McGucket labs."

They pulled out of the main part of the town, heading up to the mansion silhouetted on the hill. Northwest Manor had gone through a lot of changes in the past ten years. Even though he'd made an absolute mint off of selling a lot of his inventions and designs, basically none of the money went into anything lavish. Instead, McGucket had built a rather impressive business, entirely private owned by Fiddleford H. McGucket himself. The whole manor had been transformed into a research facility for the paranormal. It's where Grunkle Ford did a large portion of his research nowadays.

Mabel parked the RV outside of the garage and, as much as they wanted to rush, they both got out slow and normal, emergency backpacks slung over their shoulders just in case. At the door to the labs, Dipper swiped his key card and placed his head against the headrest for the optical scanner.

_"Access confirmed. Welcome back, Dipper Pines."_

He waited for Mabel just inside the entryway while she did the same thing, then they both went to the nearest main computer station and typed in their access code.

"It's not usually this quiet. It's freaking me out, Dipper."

"I'm getting their life signs in the furthest western wing."

"Just the two of them?"

McGucket had at least four assistants working there. But Dipper was right, only two little dots showed up on the map of the building, labeled _F. Pines_ and _F. McGucket_ respectively. They didn't bother with the hoverboards, they just ran the whole way there.

As they skid into the lab, their hearts leapt into their throats. Ford and McGucket were both slumped over in odd positions, unmoving.

"Grunkle Ford!"--"Ford!" They ran to him first. Mabel yanking him upright and shaking him. "Wake! Up!"

"Mabel! Don't be so rough--!"

"Egh ....wha? Huh?"

"He's alive!"

Ford groaned again when Mabel squeezed him in a hard hug, glasses askew on his face and looking very bewildered. "Mabel? Dipper?"

Dipper had to sit down on a stool, hand over his heart. "You really scared us, old man. We though you were dead."

"Dead? No I-- ...I must have dozed off."

The years had only been half-kind to Stanford Pines, which is about as much as anyone could expect. Although he still had the same youthful energy as always, the same alert and curious look in his eyes, his age could be read in his snow white hair and the deep lines and wrinkles of his face.

He rubbed his eyes when Mabel finally let him go, looking around at them both. "You're here."

  
Mabel and Dipper glanced at each other before Dipper said, "you asked us to come."

"I know, I just wasn't expecting you to get here so quickly."

"Quickly? Grunkle Ford, it took us almost three days."

"Not to mention we got your message two days after it's time stamp. That's five days in total."

Ford looked bewildered for only a moment longer, then a look of grave realization crossed his face and he sighed.

"I see. So it happened again."

Ford didn't explain right away. He got up from his seat with a groan, joints popping like he'd been there for a while. He tapped a few things into the nearest computer and frowned at what came up.

"Ford?" Dipper started.

"I'll explain everything, just not here. We need to get somewhere ...safer."

 

They were both on edge as Ford woke McGucket, who seemed much groggier than Ford had been, not remembering where he was at all at first. They remained on edge as Ford led them out of the main part of the lab and into an elevator that took them deep down into the earth. Mabel sneezed when they passed through a humming buzz the deeper they went. It was an enchanted barrier, a spell that had been very tricky to pull off, but it encased the lowest part of the labs so that nothing could pass through. Not creatures of magic, spirits, beasts, nor most humans for that matter. The only ones who could pass had to either be holding a spell sachet that counteracted the barrier, or those who's blood had been used to forge the barrier to begin with. It always tickled Mabel's nose when they went through it.

Ford must have been very worried if he would only talk about it down there. The lower labs were only one floor, but all the computers and electrical devices were run on closed circuits. It also housed some of the more dangerous specimens and experiments. Nothing left that lab, ever.

"Ford, what's going on?"

Mabel took her backpack off and left it in a chair while Ford booted the computer.

Their uncle sighed. "It all started about five weeks ago. The two of you were in Seattle taking care of that poltergeist. That's when we registered the first disruption." He brought the proper data up onto the big screen so they could all see. "It was minuscule at first. Strange, certainly, but nothing to be concerned about. We simply made a note and kept working. Within a week the disruptions got stronger, and that's when the stories started. The online forums were hot with first-hand accounts, people experiencing horrible nightmares on large scales. And it just kept building from there, but I'm sure you know all of that already. The reason we're down here is because, well..."  
Ford took a seat, looking so perplexed that Dipper and Mabel also sat down as well, waiting.  
  
"The first incident occurred at the beginning of last week, just after the two of you left for the east. Sunday night, everyone here in Gravity Falls went to bed and everything was normal. Until we all woke up and began going about our days on Monday."

"What happened?" Dipper was nearly on the edge of his seat.

"We realized that ...it wasn't Monday."

Mabel looked confused. "Come again?"

"It wasn't Monday, it was Tuesday. All digital clocks and calendars said so, all news outlets outside of Gravity Falls said so. The entire town went to bed Sunday night and woke up Tuesday morning."

"Sooo, everyone in town completely slept through Monday? That's weird."

"Maybe everyone was just super tired."  
  
"It's not just that. Since then, we've had two more instances of time-loss. On Thursday, the entire town fell asleep in the middle of the day and didn't wake up until it was almost midnight. People were still sitting in their cars, children still at their desks at school, it took a lot to quell the initial panic but Mayor Cutebiker has officially declared a Grey State of Emergency. Everyone is on high alert, keeping their eyes and ears open to anything out of the ordinary level of weirdness. And it's been happening, too. Townsfolk have begun having horrible nightmares, and many have begun sleepwalking."

Dipper was deep in thought at this point, obviously cataloging all the information in his brain, so Mabel asked for him.

"Grunkle Ford, you said there were _two_ more instances of time-loss."

"Yes, I'm afraid the other was not town-wide. It was isolated, and it's why we're sitting in this room."

Dipper and Mabel glanced at each other. "Why?"

"You just woke me up from it. I sent you that message, making sure it traveled through the encrypted channel, after the first incident of time loss. Probably took a few days to get to you. Then after Thursday happened, we met with the Mayor to discuss preparations. Fiddleford and I went back to the lab to study the magnetic disruptions in closer detail but ...that's the last thing I remember. That was yesterday afternoon."

"The rest of the town was awake and fine when we got here."

"I know, I checked the town's vitals after you woke me. This might be worse than I thought."

"So in summary," Dipper started, "something causing strong magnetic disruptions is travelling across the state and seems to be having a stronger effect here in Gravity Falls, causing time-loss on a large scale."

"Yes." Ford nodded once.

"Is it Bill?" Dipper asked point-blank, not wanting to skirt the subject.

"I thought it might be ...at first. After all, Stan's mind was able to come back thanks to an ingrained body memory. If Stan could come back after that blast of the memory device, it's not outside the realm of possibility that Bill could also find a way to return. He existed in the mindscape, that's where he was created. His immediate concentration of energy was destroyed when we wiped Stan's mind, but the rest of us still remember him. Which means he's still echoing in the mindscape. And it's been over ten years, who knows how much of him has managed to reform."

"But?" Dipper could tell there was more that Ford was hesitant to say, and it was a few moments of silence before he said anything else at all.

"It's not based in evidence, but I do not believe what is happening is Bill's doing."

"What, then?" Mabel asked, feeling a bit awkward in her seat. This conversation was so serious.

"I don't know yet. Which is why I need your help. I hate admitting it, but I'm getting old. I can't do things the way I used to. I'm sorry I called you all the way back here, but--"

" _Of course_ we'll help, Grunkle Ford. We're glad you called us back if things were this serious."

"Yeah, me and Mabel can always reschedule our trip, but I don't know what we'd do if anything happened to Gravity Falls while we weren't here."

Ford actually smiled at that, a tired but grateful smile. "Thank you, kids."

 

  
Dipper and Mabel didn't realize how tired they were until they were parking the Weird-A-Bago inside of a large garage that connected to a cozy, two-story log house. Even though they hadn't been gone for nearly as long as they were planning, it was nice to be home. Home meant sleeping in a real bed and having room to stretch out.

They didn't bother grabbing much out of the RV. The sun was already starting to go down, they could unpack tomorrow. They just grabbed what they needed and locked up. Like a pair of zombies, they trudged into the house, ready for sleep. Instead, an excited squeal met them.

"Waddles!" Mabel dropped everything and practically threw herself onto the pig who came running towards them. Waddles had definitely grown since they were kids, he was bigger than a large dog at this point. Which meant he was too big to join them when they went out for investigations, he would never fit in the RV.

"There you two knuckleheads are! Toby called and said he saw you driving into town earlier."

"Grunkle Stan, you're okay!"

"Course I'm okay, kid. Whoa there! Watch the back."

Stan laughed though, when Mabel jumped to hug him next. Dipper shut the door behind them and patted Waddles on the head before he joined the hug.

"Sorry your trip got cancelled, kids. Maybe next year, huh?"

"Thanks, Grunkle Stan."

"And thank you for watching Waddles."

"Any time, sweetie."

When they pulled out of the hug, Stan gave them both a once over. "Welp, you both look like crap. I picked up some take-out on my way over, it's on the table. Let's eat so you two can go pass out."

Dipper practically wolfed down his bacon-burger and fries. The only reason Mabel took longer was because she kept feeding her fries to Waddles and telling Stan about their short trip. Stan ate at his usual pace, idly scratching underneath his eye patch every so often, smiling at them the whole time.

Unlike during his days as Mr. Mystery, this eye patch was real. Dipper couldn't even count how many times they'd heard him tell the tale of the sea monster he'd wrestled underwater, with his bare hands, who only retreated back into the depths of the ocean after taking a piece of Stan with it. Dipper had once asked Ford what the real story was, but Ford just shook his head and said to let Stan have this one. That he'd earned it.

When they were done eating and the trash had been tossed, Stan helped them carry their stuff upstairs.

"Alright, you overgrown boogers, get some rest. I'll let myself out." He hugged them again one last time. "Oh and, uh, word of advice. Try to clear your mind before you fall asleep."

"Huh?" Dipper paused in the hall.

"Empty your mind. I know it'll be hard, but try not to think about anything."

"Why?" Mabel asked, opening her bedroom door so Waddles could go in ahead of her.

"It helps, sometimes. Postpones the nightmares, if you have them at all."

Dipper frowned. "You've been having them too?"

"Yup. Just about everyone is."

"But I thought... What about the spells on our houses? The unicorn hair and everything? Doesn't that stop anything from getting in?"

"Yeah, it stopped Bill."

Stan sighed and shuffled his feet. "Ya see, this is why Stanford is so worried. The spells haven't been stopping it. Everyone in town is being affected, even him."

They both absorbed that in shocked silence, but Stan tried to lighten the mood. "Like I said, just clear your mind before you fall asleep, it helps, really. And I'll, uh, I'll see you two tomorrow."

"Goodnight Grunkle Stan," Mabel said absently.

"Night, kiddos."

After they heard the front door close, Dipper and Mabel just looked at each other. They didn't speak because they didn't need to, they knew what the other was thinking, and they also knew what the other would say in response. They were exhausted and there was nothing they could do until morning. But when morning came, they would find out exactly what was going on in Oregon. No one messed with their home and no one messed with their family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MYSTERY TWINS ACTIVATE


	3. Nightmare On Pines Street

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this one took so long.

It wasn't a nightmare per se. At least, it was no more of a nightmare than his other dreams. When you worked in the sort of profession and lived the sort of life Dipper and Mabel did, dreams were rarely warm and cozy. Well, maybe Mabel's were, who really knew. But Dipper had seen too many living nightmares to be bothered by the ones in his sleep. This was, however, a dream he'd never had before.

He was standing in a forest. The trees stretched so high above him that there was no visible canopy. There wasn't really any light but neither was it dark in the forest. It was all just sort of faded and kind of grey. It was also quiet, but not the kind of quiet that makes your ears ring, searching for any sort of sound. It was the kind of quiet you hear when your brain shuts out the noise around it, a soft pressure on your eardrums. A purposeful silence. Intended.  
Dipper wasn't alone in the forest. He couldn't actually see anyone else, he just knew. It unnerved him, so he began to walk.

He knew there was grass and twigs under his feet, but no sound came from them as he tread. The purposeful silence followed him as he weaved around the trees, following a nonexistent path. What could this dream even mean? Even then he was wondering. He was also wondering if he'd remembered to put his recorder on his bedside table so he could recount it as soon as he woke up, before he forgot any details.

It was in that moment of absent mindedness that Dipper realized that he _could_ hear something. The silence still pressed around him, but it was no longer absolute. He stopped walking immediately.

It was softer than the softest sound he'd ever heard, less than a whisper but he was almost certain it was words. It would be hard to explain but the words didn't actually sound like they were being spoken, and yet he could hear them all around.

Dipper closed his eyes in his dream and tried to open his mind, to concentrate. What were they saying? It felt like he could almost hear the words, they were right there. What were they--

_"Dipper?"_

"What?" His eyes snapped open.

"Dipper."

It took a moment for him to realize that he hadn't opened his eyes in his dream, but in real life. In the dim light of what looked like the earliest moment of dawn, he could see Mabel watching him, brow creased gently.

"Mabel?" His tongue felt like it was stuck to the roof of his mouth and his breath came in deeper as his mind woke more. "Wha's wrong?"

"I was gonna ask you that."

"Huh?" Dipper tried to sit up, but his body still felt too heavy, like he really shouldn't have been awake yet. So he didn't fight it.

"You were talking in your sleep," Mabel explained, and while Dipper was only half-awake that certainly got his attention.

"What wuz I sayin'?"

"That you were thirsty. I could hear you when I got up to use the toilet. So I brought you some water." She motioned to the glass sitting on his bedside table next to his recorder. He wasn't really all that thirsty though, just tired. A yawn worked it's way up his throat.

"Thanks, Mabel."

She didn't leave though, she hovered near his bed, looking uncharacteristically uncomfortable. Dipper forced himself to sit up then, yawning again.

"What's wrong?"

She didn't say anything, just gave a shrug, and it dawned on him.

"...Nightmare?"

"Nightmare is kind of a strong word," Mabel said, tugging at the sleeves of her nightshirt. "Just ...bad memories, I guess."

It took a lot given that his limbs still felt so floppy, but Dipper scooted over on his bed, closer to the wall. He separated his pillows and patted the mattress when he was done. Mabel gave a small smile.

"Thanks, Dip."

Dipper was falling back asleep quickly as Mabel climbed under the covers with him. Part of him was trying to recall his odd dream, like trying to hit play on a paused movie. But Mabel's hair smelled like flowery, pink shampoo, and Dipper couldn't even remember what the forest looked like. But he did remember how lovely the sunrise over Erie had been. He really hoped they could go back soon.

 

 

"Apology waffles!"

"Mabel, you don't have to keep apologizing."

But Dipper's protest didn't stop his sister from placing a huge plate of waffles in front of him. Eggs, chunked ham, and bacon were piled on top with the melting butter, and she slid the Mounty Man over to him along with his orange juice.

"The breakfast of champions!" And she wasn't wrong. "Oh, and these."

Dipper gratefully accepted the Ibuprofen, swallowing the little white pills before anything else. His neck was still pretty sore from waking up with his face smooshed against the wall. They had only shared a bed for about four hours, but that was enough time for Mabel to conquer most of the mattress in her sleep, leaving her brother the awkward edge. To top it off, Waddles had joined them at some point and Dipper hadn't been able to feel his feet for a good twenty minutes. He was frankly surprised his bed frame hadn't collapsed under their combined weight.

On the plus side, neither of them had any weird dreams or nightmares during that time.

"So what on the agenda?" Mabel asked when she finally sat down with her own stack of waffles, topped in various fruits and whipped cream. Apparently, Stan had done an excellent job restocking their fridge and pantry before they got home.

Dipper was idly flipping through files on his tablet while he ate. "Well," He said through a mouthful. "Ford emailed over the list of townspeople who've seemed to be the most effected so far. We should take the day to interview them, gather data."

"Who dat?"

It took Dipper a moment to pull the email up again.

"Let's see here ....Yikes."

"What?"

Dipper took a deep breath, putting his fork down. "Deputy Sheriff Durland, Ghost-Eyes, Tad Strange, Janice Valentino, Bud Gleeful, Melody Ramirez, Fiddleford H. McGucket, and ...Dr. Candy Chiu."

"Wait ...Candy? And Melody??"

"And McGucket."

"This list _sucks_."

"Yep."

"Why didn't Grunkle Ford say anything sooner?"  
  
"I don't know, but I think it's best if we don't react too hard."

Mabel, who had began wolfing the rest of her breakfast down, paused with a confused look.

"Like yesterday, we need to be very careful. Until we know exactly what we're dealing with here, we should treat Gravity Falls just like we would any new investigation into something unknown."

"But thisth isth perthonal!" Whipped cream clogged her speech.

"But we need to remain objective. It's the best way we can help the town and our friends."

Mabel knew Dipper was probably right because he was always right about these kinds of things. She swallowed hard and pouted, watching him calmly continue to eat.

"We'll leave soon. Finish eating and go get ready."

She didn't like his wise and superior tone, but arguing about it would get them no where. She was getting pretty worried but Dipper was right. Panicking and racing over to see Candy and Melody wouldn't solve the case faster, especially if whatever they were up against was already watching them.

She put her plate on the floor so Waddles could finish it and went back upstairs.

 

 

As much as Mabel had begged and insisted that they find Candy first, Dipper thought it best if they followed the list in order and head to the Police Station. Mabel grumbled the entire way there from the passenger seat of Dipper's car.

The town still seemed about as normal as Gravity Falls could get, but Dipper was doing his best to remain observant as they headed for the Police Station. There did seem to be slightly less people out than normal, and the more he paid attention to the townsfolk who were out, the more he could tell that their smiles were strained, eyes tired. Collective, town-wide nightmares was a new phenomenon for them.

Luckily, there was something at the Police Station that cheered Mabel up almost right away. They'd barely stepped into the lobby when what looked like a tan and olive tank came hurtling right at them, crashing into Mabel and sweeping her up in a tight hug.

"You're back!"

"Grenda!"

Dipper narrowly escaped getting hit by flying appendages when Grenda twirled them both around before letting Mabel back onto her feet. "We missed you so much!"

"You always say that when we leave." Mabel was grinning as she fixed her hair though, she'd needed that hug.

"It's always true! Hey Dipper."

"Good morning, Officer. Is the Deputy in today?"

Grenda's expression changed almost instantly to a mild discomfort. "You guys are here about that, huh? We were all kinda wondering if that's why you came back so early. People are gonna be really relieved to know."

"Just don't spread it around too loudly, we need to be careful until we know for sure what's going on."

Grenda nodded knowingly. "The Deputy isn't here today, but Blubs is. Sign in for your visitor's tags and you can go back and see him."

While Dipper signed them in, Mabel pulled Grenda aside.

"So you've been having the nightmares too?" Mabel asked in worry.

"Yeah, just about everyone is. It's been hitting certain people pretty hard, though..."

"Like Candy?"

Grenda nodded sadly. "She was actually fine at first. Didn't start having nightmares until the second incident. But now..."

"How bad is it?"

Grenda shrugged. "She won't say much about it. It hasn't stopped her from going to work, but you can really tell that she's exhausted. She might not be sleeping at all at this point. I think the sleepwalking really freaked her out."

"She's one of the sleepwalkers?"

"She woke up in the middle of the forest, had no idea where she was. Called me at, like, three in the morning, crying because she was lost in her pajamas without any slippers on."

Mabel covered her mouth in horror, but Grenda interjected quickly.

"She's fine now, though. I tracked the GPS in her phone. I think we're just lucky she always falls asleep with it in her hand. Other townsfolk haven't been so lucky. We've started nightly patrols in residential areas, even recruiting civilians for night-watches. The Corduroys have been managing the committee for us."

Mabel's expression seemed a thousand miles away though, so Grenda grabbed her shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. "Hey, this is us we're talking about. The people of this town, me, even Candy, we know how to take care of ourselves. And now that you and Dipper are here, we know everything is going to be fine. This is nothing compared to what happened last time. We've got this, alright?"

Mabel smiled and hugged her again. "You're right. I have been getting too worked up about it. I mean, we don't even know what it is yet. Could just be some kind of outbreak of hallucinogenic dust for all we know."

"Wouldn't that make our lives so much easier?" Dipper returned with their visitor's badges. "Alright, time to talk with the Sheriff."

"Just warning you now," Grenda said as they headed through the station. "He's been a little ...on edge."

 

 

'On edge' was an understatement.

"Pines!"

"Sheriff Blubs," Dipper greeted when they entered the man's office. He'd been pacing behind his desk when they came in, stroking his mustache and looking very agitated. Which was unusual for him.

" _Sit_ ," he said sternly. Dipper and Mabel were both so surprised that they dropped into the visitor's chairs without a word.

"It's about time you two brought your rear ends into this station, after everything that's happened. I have the right mind to fire both of you."

"But ...we don't work here."

"Don't interrupt me when I'm scolding you, Curly. Now," Blubs sat himself down, fixing them both with a hard look. "What's the situation?"

Dipper cleared his throat, relaxing somewhat in his chair. "We don't know much so far. Just the reports Ford briefed us on yesterday, along with a list of citizens who've been the most effected. That's why we're here. We were hoping we could talk to the Deputy."

Blubs sat back, stroking his mustache again. "Durland isn't here. I thought it best if he stayed home today, try to get some rest."

"I see. Is there any way we could talk to him at some point today?"

"I'll arrange it. But before any of that, we need to talk strategy. Half the town is holding up just fine, but the other half is terrified that Bill Cipher is back and _no one_ wants another Weirdmageddon. Some folks are still in therapy, and it was over ten years ago. So what are our options."

Dipper thought about it quickly while Mabel spoke up.

"Well, you've already established a night-watch, right?"

"Correct, the Night-Watch Committee has been organizing capable civilians in shifts every night, keeping eyes out for sleepwalkers, making sure no one hurts themselves. Corduroy's been managing it like a champ. She also re-opened the Survival Seminar she usually only does in the summer. Getting everyone brushed up on their apocalypse survival skills."

"Well that's definitely a good start. What about the electrical outages?"

"We've had a few flickers and blackouts, but they seemed to happen only during the time loss. Cell towers have been unreliable, too. Sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't. The radio tower shorted out completely."

"Good, okay. I'll get someone at McGucket labs to keep a log of the outages, of when and where they occur." Dipper nodded his head as he pulled out a notebook out of his backpack and began scribbling stuff down. "What we really need right now is information and clues. If you could use the wire to let the town know, we're looking for reports of absolutely anything out of the usual abnormal activity Gravity Falls is used to. Any strange people, visitors, behavior changes, sightings, anything at all. We need to get in touch with the Gnomes too, see if anything in the woods and mountains has seen anything different either. The more information we get, the quicker we can narrow this down."

"You got it, kid."

"Mabel and I need to interview these people." He handed over a copy of the list Ford had sent him. "Right away."

"I'll have some squad cars run by their homes and businesses and let them know you're coming, and I'll let you know when you can talk to Durland."

"Thank you, Sheriff. In the mean time, the townsfolk just need to keep their eyes open and watch out for each other. As soon as we know something, so will you."

Blubs stood when the twins did, shaking both their hands. "Anything you two need, just let us know. We'll keep you updated on any reports coming in."

 

 

Next on the list was Ghost-Eyes.

"I think it might be best if we split up," Dipper said when they left the Police Station. He rummaged through his backpack and handed Mabel a camcorder with a folding stand. Also a recorder and small flip-notebook he'd written questions in earlier that morning. "If you go find and interview Tad and Mrs. Valentino, I'll interview Ghost-Eyes and Bud."

"You got it, bro. Where should we meet when we're done?"

"The Shack. That way we can interview Melody and Soos together."

"Roger that. I'll text you when I'm on my way over there."

"Good, yes, stay in touch. And keep your eyes peeled for anything unusual."

Mabel dumped everything into her own bag and went right back inside the Station. Before the door finished closing, he could hear her yell, "Hey Grenda! Can you give me a ride--!"

Speed and efficiency was a very good reason for them to split the foot work, but Dipper gave himself Ghost-Eyes and Bud on purpose. Although they were on much friendlier terms nowadays, he still didn't like the way Gideon looked at his sister. And going to see Ghost-Eyes meant going to see Gideon.

It was a short drive from the Station to the center of town. Dipper parked in a public lot and just walked the rest of the way to the largest building on the street. Gracing it's front were large, flashy letters that read 'Gleeful Insurance' with Gideon's telepathy star right underneath.

Dipper made sure his cap was on straight as he walked through the lobby, nodding at the two burly men in a security uniforms. He didn't sign in or anything, but headed straight for the elevators to take him to the third floor.

Gideon's receptionist didn't even greet him, just gave him one bored look and picked up the phone on her desk. "Mr. Gleeful, someone from the Pines Family is here to see you," she said in a nasally voice. "Right away, Sir." When she hung up, she gave Dipper another dull look and nodded to the door behind her.

Dipper squared his shoulders and entered the office.

  
"Well, well, well, Dipper Pines. Back from yer little cross-country vacation already? Feels like you just left."

In the past ten years, Gideon Gleeful only grew about nine inches. But he hardly looked small behind his dark-wood desk. Two more beefy men stood in each room corner behind Gideon, looking as dark and menacing as ever. Gideon on the other hand, looked down-right delighted.

"Yeah, guess we got a little homesick." Dipper let himself all the way inside, sitting down in a chair across from Gideon like he was in no way intimidated. It was the same routine every time.

"What a darling thing to say, though I understand what you mean. Gravity Falls is such an enchanting little town, I never have the heart to leave it myself. Now what can I do for you today, Dipper Pines? Got a question concerning your life insurance policy?"

Gideon's tone and smile made him seem like the he was the most pleasant person on earth, but Dipper knew it was all just a mask. He tried to relax in his seat.

"No, actually. I heard through the grapevine that your father, and your pal Ghost-Eyes, have been feeling a little under the weather lately. I just wanted to come by and make sure they're doing alright."

Gideon gave a happy chuckle at that. "Dipper Pines, you never cease to delight. What a kind thing of you to do. Well unfortunately the grapevine was right, poor daddy hasn't been feeling quite himself the last week or so, so him and mother took a small vacation themselves down to California. Some fresh air and rest and he oughta be right as rain."

"So he's not here?"

"Left two days ago at my insistence, I'm afraid. Ghost-Eyes is just down stairs though. Would you like to see him?"

"Please."

Gideon snapped his fingers without moving to stand up. One of the bodygaurds poured a glass of water from a pitcher on the nearby bar. He brought it to Gideon who sprinkled in a little something from a pouch in his breast pocket. The glass was then handed to Dipper.

"Thirsty?"

"Thank you." Dipper only hesitated for a moment, then forced himself to gulp the water down. It tasted sharp and bitter, but he drank it all. Ford had him drink potions and concoctions that tasted much worse in comparison.

The bodyguard took the glass back when he was finished and Gideon finally stood up from his desk, straightening his tie.

"Follow me."

The elevator was wide but even still, Dipper struggled to not have to touch either bodyguard or Gideon, who despite being a full head shorter than him still demanded a lot of presence. Gideon typed a code into the elevator pad and stood still for a retina scan. After than, the elevator began to descend.

It traveled down further than the first floor of the building, but no where near as deep as Ford's fortified lab. It was light, but Dipper felt a tickle of magic on his nose and the water in his stomach felt a little sour. But nothing else happened, so the spell must have thought he was good enough to pass through.

Underneath Gleeful Insurance, Gideon dropped the delighted business-owner shtik.

"Well it's about damn time someone started investigating what's going on. That uncle of yours is getting slow and sloppy, this town has been terrified for a week straight."

"He's not slow and sloppy, he's old, Gideon. They may not act like it, but Ford and Stan are getting old.They can't keep doing field work at their age."

"They could have done _something_. Like warn us."

"They don't know much more than anyone else does, all they have is the data and reports. But Mabel and I are here now, we're going to figure this out."

"Damn well better. Daddy looked like he was having apocalypse flashbacks. Ghost-Eyes has been trying to keep it together, but I can tell it's getting to him."

Outside of the elevator was Gleeful Insurance's basement, furbished in true small-town mob boss style. Gideon led him past a gym and locker rooms, a game room, a locked door that read 'firearms', and a few other rooms he didn't want to look in. They found Ghost-Eyes in the mess hall, eating a bowl of Cheerios quietly and alone.

"Ghost-Eyes."

The burly man stood up quickly, slamming his knee on the underside of the table which sloshed milk out of his bowl.

"Boss!"

"None of that right now. Sit back down, you're supposed to be resting."

"Sorry."

"Got someone here to talk to you, buddy."

Dipper sat himself down on the other side of the table from the man more than twice his own size. "Ghost-Eyes."

"Pines." The man gave him a nod of hello, starting to sop up the milk with his napkin. His face was almost gaunt, deep bags under his milky eyes in blatant exhaustion.

"I hear that you've been having trouble sleeping."

He nodded and Dipper took his backpack off.

"Would you mind if I asked you a few questions about it? We're trying to figure out what's causing this so we can hopefully stop it."

Ghost-Eyes looked at Gideon, then back at Dipper. "Sure."

"Thank you."

It only took Dipper a few minutes to set up his camera on it's tripod, focusing it and walking away. He across from Ghost-Eyes again with an audio recorder placed on the table and a notebook in his hands. He made a few notes before he started speaking.

"Alright, this is case number seventy-two, location: Gravity Falls, Oregon. Witness Interview. Alright, please state your name for the record."

"Ghost-Eyes."

"Can you briefly tell us about yourself? Where you work, for instance?"

The burly man shifted in his seat but Gideon gave him a permissive nod.

"I work ...security for Gideon Gleeful. I'm also a Claims Adjuster at Gleeful Insurance and I volunteer down at the Rec Center once a month."

"Doing what?"

"Therapy."

Dipper made some notes. "Excellent. Now, Ghost-Eyes, in your own words, can you tell me what's been happeneing in Gravity Falls?"

There was a slight hesitation before he started. "A week ago, we all went to bed on a Sunday night and didn't wake up until Tuesday morning. It was weird though, because it _felt_ like it was Monday, yanno? It didn't feel like we'd all been asleep for thirty-two hours. But then it happened again two days later, whole town fell asleep. I was in the middle of a work-call, sitting at my desk. It's freaky."

"And when did the nightmares start?"

Ghost-Eyes looked distinctly uncomfortable. "For me ...it started that first night. Sunday night."

"Could you describe the nightmares?"

He nodded before he answered, looking oddly small for someone so beefy.

"...What you gotta understand is that ...I've done some things in my life that I'm not proud of. Bad things. Bad things that got me locked up in prison for a long time. I've made peace with myself about my past, and I'm working hard to make up for it. But the memories... they never really go away."

Dipper paused in his note-taking to look up, which made Ghost-Eyes look down at the table.

That first night didn't start out so bad. I was just wandering around in a forest, but eventually I ...found a door."

"A door?"

"It was just standing there, in the grey forest. I could hear voices coming from the other side, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. So I opened it. And then..."

He really looked like he didn't want to continue, but Dipper needed to know. If they were going to help Gravity Falls, they needed everything. Out of respect though, he didn't prompt him onward this time, was better to let him go at his own pace.

Gideon stepped over and put a comforting hand on the man's back.

"I was back in the Smoke 'Um, it was an old Biker's Joint on the outskirts of town, shut down a long time ago. It looked just how I remembered it though, everything was the same. The young couple was there, the..."

Dipper stifled a sigh because this was obviously very hard for Ghost-Eyes to say.

"You say this part of the dream was identical to this memory of yours. Identical in every way?"

Ghost-Eyes nodded solemnly.

"There was nothing unusual about it? Nothing that was out of place or seemed strange?"

"I left too fast to notice."

"What do you mean, left?"

"I ran out the door of the bar."

"What happened then?"

"I was back in the grey forest. And I stayed there until I woke up."

Dipper finished a note and turned to the next page in his notebook. "Have all the nightmares been like this."

"No ..and yes. I always start out in a forest, walking along. And there's always a new door for me to walk through, and they always lead to a different memory."

"Always bad memories?"

"Always. They have gotten ..strange recently, though. Now that I think about it."

"How so?"

"It's been harder to find a door out of them for one thing. I mean, I find it eventually but ...not quick enough. And there's something off about the forest, too."

"Off how?"

"It's like I'm not the only person in it. Sometimes I think I hear somebody, so I go looking for them. That's usually when I wake up sleepwalking."

"Ghost-Eyes has disappeared twice now, before he started sleeping down here in a locked room." Gideon interjected. "Daddy went sleepwalking three times before him and Mother cut outta town."

"Did your father ever tell you about his nightmares?"

"He mentioned a forest a few times, just like Ghost-Eyes, here. Other than that, he was incoherent. Kept saying that someone was thirsty and every time he went sleepwalking, he carried a glass of water out into the woods with him."

Thirsty? Why did that sound so familiar?

"Ghost-Eyes kept carrying a pitcher of water with him when he went sleepwalking. A lot of townsfolk have been doing something similar from what I understand."

"Carrying water into the woods?"

"Yeah."

This was definitely not something Dipper had ever heard before in their years of investigation into the paranormal. Normally, he loved new phenomenon, but not this time.

"Is there anything else you think I should know? _Anything_ else that might help?"

Ghost-Eyes though for a minute but eventually shook his head. "Not that I can think of."

"Alright." Dipper closed his notebook. "Well, if you think of anything else, or have another nightmare where something seems out of the ordinary, please give me a call."

"We will. Thank you, Dipper. For helping us."

Dipper's brow was drawn down in thought though as he packed his equipment back into his backpack. He just hoped that he _could_ help.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to let me know what you think!


End file.
